Ton Of Confiscated Ivory Crushed At Times Square Event

Ivory crush event in Times Square on June 19, 2015. (credit: Megan Maher/WCS)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — In an effort to draw attention to elephant poaching and wildlife trafficking, a ton of confiscated ivory was crushed Friday in Times Square.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employed a 44-foot long by 13-foot wide machine, normally used for crushing rock, to pulverize the ton of artistically carved elephant ivory.

Ton Of Ivory Crushed At Times Square Event

“For a brief moment, Times Square stood still for Africa’s elephants,” Wildlife Conservation Society President and CEO Cristián Samper said in a statement. “The United States staged this event at its most famous address where messages speak their loudest — two stories high and in lights. And today’s message is this: We plan to crush the ivory trade and crush the profits of the traffickers.”

“We are sending a strong message to consumers and to poachers and those who market illegal ivory, that they cannot and should not be engaging in this trade,” Senator Brad Hoylman told 1010 WINS.